Lewis Richardson: GB boxer ponders whether to seek Olympic place or turn pro
- Published
Lewis Richardson began boxing when he was 13 but missed much of 2018 because of a back injury
Lewis Richardson is in two minds about whether to try to win a place in Great Britain's boxing squad for the 2024 Paris Olympics or turn professional.
The 25-year-old middleweight won European silver and Commonwealth Games bronze medals earlier this year.
And he added a gold to his collection at the prestigious Tammer tournament in Finland last weekend.
"I still feel the best is yet to come and there are exciting times ahead," Richardson told BBC Essex.
He has to complete his dissertation for a masters degree in sports business management by the end of the year.
"I plan not to use that masters for a little while. It'll be full steam ahead towards boxing," he said.
"In regards to boxing, there's obviously the Olympics route which is coming up in 18, 20 months or potentially going professional before that.
"We'll see. I'll speak to the team around me. I've got a great support network around me, both in Colchester and when I'm based in Sheffield with GB boxing."
Great Britain came second in the boxing medal table at the delayed Tokyo Olympics in 2021 with two of each colour, but no middleweight was selected for the men's competition.
But Richardson put that behind him with his European-Commonwealth medal double and defeated Sweden's Erik Mendoza in the Tammer final.
"There's a little bit of uncertainty around the Olympic weight categories at the moment but hopefully that'll get finalised before the end of the year," he said.
"My decision whether to stay (amateur) for the Olympics or not might depend on that. It's uncertain whether middleweight will be in the Olympics, but I could potentially move up or down a weight - or turn professional.
"I feel like they are good problems to have. I feel I'm coming into my prime and I'm just excited about the next five or six years in boxing."
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- Published16 October 2022
